The Benchmark We Needed

Road to Karlsruhe | March 2026

The Month in Context

Our Road to Karlsruhe began on 7 March in Espoo, although we did not yet understand how much that day would shape the following months.

The HYROX Simulation Race was our first real benchmark as a Mixed Doubles team. We arrived with motivation, a reasonable general fitness base, and plenty of willingness to work. What we did not yet have was practical experience of managing eight runs, eight stations, transitions, shared workloads, and rising fatigue as one continuous performance.

Our result was 1:21:49.

The time gave us a starting point, but the real value of Espoo came from what the race revealed. Farmer Carry, SkiErg, and Rowing suited us relatively well. Running after stations was a different story. It was clear that being able to run when fresh was not the same as being able to run efficiently after demanding functional work.

The day also gave us an unexpected lesson before the race had even started. We had planned the morning schedule incorrectly and left the hotel too late. While sitting on the metro, we realised that the start was only about 40 minutes away and the walk from the station to the venue would take approximately 30 minutes.

Our planned warm-up became a hurried run to the race venue.

Not ideal, but memorable.

The Focus of the Month

Espoo gave us four priorities:

1. Build a stronger aerobic running base.
2. Improve sustainable running under fatigue.
3. Learn to pace stations instead of attacking them.
4. Become more efficient as a doubles team.

The result did not call for a complete reinvention of our training. It called for structure.

We needed easy running that was genuinely easy, quality sessions with controlled progression, strength work that supported rather than destroyed running, and simulations that taught us how to move from one task to the next without unnecessary pauses.

Key Training Sessions

The Espoo Simulation

The full race structure was broken into repeated running laps and station intervals. The data showed that the station work consumed a significant part of the total performance, but the subjective lesson was even clearer: running while fatigued required specific preparation.

Our teamwork was already promising, but the division of work was still developing. We were completing the race together, yet we were not always using our individual strengths as deliberately as we later would.

Early Running Development

The available March material shows the beginning of a shift toward structured running. The aim was not simply to chase faster kilometres. We needed to make running repeatable and controllable.

The earliest coaching logic after Espoo focused on:

• conversational Zone 2 running
• longer controlled intervals
• better pacing
• leaving enough energy for the next training day

Detailed March session metrics beyond the Espoo event are incomplete. [SOURCE DATA NEEDED]

HYROX Training at Normal Gyms

Another practical theme emerged early. Not every gym had a sled, SkiErg, or wall-ball setup. This pushed us to find useful alternatives with treadmills, cable machines, dumbbells, and rowing equipment.

That became an important part of our identity. We were not training in perfect conditions. We were learning to train consistently with the equipment available.

What the Data Told Us

Espoo established the baseline:

• Overall result: 1:21:49
• Running under fatigue needed work.
• Station transitions contained avoidable time.
• General work capacity was already useful.
• Doubles performance required more than splitting repetitions equally.

At this stage, one race was not enough to demonstrate a trend. It was, however, enough to identify the direction.

What Went Well

Our biggest success was that we finished the event wanting to continue.

The simulation did not make HYROX look easy. It made the challenge clearer, and that made the project more compelling.

We also discovered that working together felt natural. Communication, trust, and shared effort were already strengths, even if the technical details still needed development.

Challenges and Adjustments

The first adjustment was psychological. We stopped thinking of HYROX as separate running and station exercises. It had to be trained as one connected discipline.

The second adjustment concerned pacing. Maximum effort on every station was not sustainable.

The third concerned preparation. The rushed journey from the metro to the venue made one point very clear: competition begins before the start line.

The Sisu Moment

Our first Sisu Moment happened before the official clock started.

We could have arrived stressed and frustrated after misjudging the morning schedule. Instead, we adapted. We ran to the venue with our race gear, accepted the imperfect preparation, and competed.

It was not heroic. It was simply necessary.

That made it a fitting beginning.

What We Learned

• Running after stations must be trained specifically.
• Smooth transitions save energy as well as time.
• Doubles strategy is about strengths, not mathematical equality.
• A race-morning plan needs margin.
• One honest benchmark can be more valuable than several comfortable workouts.

Looking Ahead

April would be about turning the lessons into a repeatable training structure.

The longer-term target was already ambitious: Mixed Doubles under 70 minutes in Karlsruhe on 1 October 2026.

The gap was significant. But Espoo gave us something essential: a clear starting point.

Final Thoughts

Espoo did not prove that we were ready.

It proved that we were committed to becoming ready.

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